Quick Dram : Bunnahabhain 1997 – Queen Of The Moorlands

A few months ago, Marc P, from South Africa who is a fellow blogger (A.K.A Whisky Brother) and good whisky friends came for a visit, and we met over at Shai’s for lunch and a few drams. Our host Shai put quite a few interesting bottles on the table, and one of them was this one I was longing to try after Shai was raving about how good it was, and that he managed to get a bottle sent to him. This edition was bottled for the Feis Ile 2010 (which had some wonderful drams bottled for it – I got to taste quite a few thanks to shai bringing over a few), and was distilled in 1997 and aged for 13 years in cask # 3148 (Sherry Hogshead). I am quite fond of peated Bunnhabhains which are not really rare, as most IB’s have bottled a cask in recent years. This one however is exceptionally good. I did get to taste that with Shai and Marc, but it was after a lot of other good drams and I was wee bit tipsy, so gladly Shai offered me a sample to take home and enjoy in the comfort of my own castle. Let’s get on dramming!

Nose: Brine , peat and sweet smoke. Some cigar ash, mushrooms and balsamic traces. Funky. Sherried peaty bunny, and those I do like!

Palate: Big waves of peat and campfire smoke. Some oak , spice and burnt sugar. Not very complex, but very yummy and warms your soul from the inside.Finish : Long. Dry. Ashy with burnt sugar going a long way, memories of a campfire on the beach.

All in all this is a beauty. a peated Bunny, and sherry to complement the profile. great stuff. and well done. My first queen of the moorlands experssion, and not the last. most definetly.